Teaching To their strengths - Movement and Learning

I remember sitting in a classroom at Brigham Young University almost fifteen years ago listening to a brief lecture on Multiple Intelligence, a theory of learning proposed by Howard Gardner back in 1983.  I wish there had been more than fifteen minutes dedicated to this topic.  In the years since I have learned to look at each of my students and try to figure out their strengths.  When you have over 100 students each year that is a tough order to fill, but I tried.  I didn't always succeed.  But, I tried.  It is SO much easier to look at my own children and figure out their strengths and weaknesses. 

Children are unique and different, and so are the ways that they learn. Learning to read is a complicated process, because of this it is important that I find the best way to approach that process for all three of my kiddos.  Multiple Intelligence theory proposes that each of us has seven ways of learning.  We have all seven within us, however we are more proficient in some areas then in others.  Because of this, it is imperative that teachers/parents learn the strengths of their students.  This way we are able to build curriculum that has each individual child in mind.  


This week I started the process of assessing my two little ones.  I found a great source for this through TOT School.  I downloaded her assessment sheets and plan on using them to find out exactly what Emma knows right now so that I have an idea of where to go from there.  Tonight as I read to the kids before bed.  I chose to read Thomas's ABC Book based on The Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry.  As we went through each page I asked Chase to identify the letter.  Some he got right off the bat, others he used pictures to clue him in, and then others he just looked up at me with his bright blue eyes and said "I don't know, help me!"  Too cute! 

This was the second time I went through to see what letters he knew.  The day before we played go fish with leap frog phonics cards. Before we began to play I went through the different letters.  He would trace the letters before he would tell me what they were.  We then started the game.   He either called out the letter or said a picture.  Each time he had to "go fish" he would actually pretend to throw a line, or he would go digging.  The game took twice as long as it should have because he was constantly moving - Which totally is something that a kinesthetic learner would do. 

Kinesthetic learners learn by doing, touching, moving.  Sitting at a desk for extended amounts of time are a form of torture for them.   Both Chase and DD are definitely in this category. Often children who are kinesthetic learners are labeled ADD and ADHD (I know my children have been - For Chase it is part of having PDD-NOS and SPD)  and assumed difficult to teach.  Chase is not difficult to teach he just learns differently – thus the importance of a small classroom.

I love taking Chase to The Little Gym.  It allows him to get the wiggles out, to build muscle control (another part of PDD-NOS), and they have learning themes that they work on, not just running, climbing, tumbling ect.  They are currently working on learning the alphabet and rhyming.  Last week the teachers hid letters throughout the gym and sent the kids to find them.  Chase of course game back with his letter. 

In class they also did a weird rhyme with "Hickory Dickory Dock" with the parachute.  Oh did he love this activity.  He loves to hide, and he spent most of the time underneath, crawling from one side to another. 

This week they had the kids rhyme the word hat while walking on the balance beam.  Chase doesn't like the balance beam, so I'm not sure how that one all went, but in the car I had him tell me some words.  It was such a neat experience to hear him say: cat, mat, sat, rat.  Emma just repeated the words after him.  Too cute!!